Air Fryer Spam Musubi Katsu

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I LOVE Spam! My mom used to always make me Spam and rice, Spam musubi, Spam fried rice, and so much more, so it’s really become a comfort food for me.

Since I started cooking on my own, I’ve gone off the deep end trying all kinds of recipes like Spam Fries, Spam Chips, and Pork Tamago Onigiri to name just a few.

My grandparents were placed in the Japanese internment camps during World War II, and Spam was one of the only meat products that was readily available during war time. So, they were introduced to it then, and continued eating it even after the war, so the love of Spam has been passed down through the generations of our family since then 😋

Spam musubi is a delicious medley of rice and Spam wrapped in nori (seaweed), and it’s been a staple at our family gatherings ever since I can remember. It’s one of my favorite foods ever, so I decided to try kicking it up a notch by making it katsu style with Bachan’s Hot & Spicy Japanese BBQ Sauce, and trust me, it’s SO tasty!

Get Recipe Ingredients

Can you make this as a chicken katsu musubi?

Yes. This recipe uses crispy Spam katsu, but you can make a chicken katsu musubi with the same method: swap the Spam slices for thin, panko-breaded chicken, air-fry until golden, and press it onto the rice with a musubi mold. The chicken katsu musubi version is a little heartier, and everything else, the rice, the nori, and the sauce, stays exactly the same.

History of Spam Musubi

Origin of Spam Musubi (and Spam!)

Spam is a brand of processed and canned pork and ham that was created in 1937 as a cheap, shelf-stable meat product during WWII. This meant it could be shipped out to soldiers and stored for long periods of time. After the war, Spam became a staple in Hawaii and many Pacific islands because of its introduction by the US military.

Hawaii has a large Japanese population, that originally immigrated in the 1800’s to work in the sugarcane fields, and Spam Musubi is a delicious result of the blending of Japanese and Hawaiian influences post-WWII. Musubi is a Japanese rice ball with other ingredients inside or on top, and the addition of Spam made it uniquely Hawaiian.

Brief History of Katsu

Katsu is a Japanese term for breaded and fried cutlets. It’s probably most known in the form of tonkatsu (pork) or chicken katsu. It’s now considered a Japanese cooking style, however, they actually adopted it from the French in the late 1800’s.

If you want to try the katsu technique with fish, these Air Fryer Salmon Bites follow the same flour, egg, and panko method for a crispy salmon katsu.

I love things made katsu style, like ebi fry and tonkatsu, and I’m a huge Spam fan so that’s what gave me the idea to bread and air fry Spam musubi!

How to Make Spam Musubi Katsu

Ingredients

This Spam musubi katsu recipe is so easy to make! The furikake is optional, so if you don’t have any, that’s totally cool.

• Spam
• Short Grain White Rice (I like Nishiki brand)
• Nori Sheets
• Furikake
• Bachan’s Hot & Spicy Japanese BBQ Sauce
• All Purpose Flour
• Eggs (beaten)
• Panko

Equipment

• Air Fryer
• Mixing Bowls
• Frying Pan
• Musubi Press
• Whisk
• Rice Cooker
• Cutting Board
• Chef Knife

Equipment

Here’s a list of the gear you’ll need to make the Spam musubi. I HIGHLY recommend using a musubi press, and the plastic ones are really cheap on Amazon, but if you don’t want to get one, you can use the spam can lined with plastic wrap. It just won’t be nearly as clean-cut and polished.

• Rice Cooker
• Musubi Press
• Mixing Bowls
• Cutting Board
• Chef Knife
• Air Fryer

Instructions

1. Prepare the rice

Preheat air fryer to 350 degrees. Then, cook rice and transfer into a medium mixing bowl. Add furikake and mix it in.

2. Prepare the Spam

Slice Spam and put in a pan over medium heat. Cook both sides until they start darkening a bit, and then pour in Bachan’s sauce. Be sure to coat both sides of Spam for a nice glaze.

3. Shape them

Place half the rice into a Spam musubi mold and press down to form the rice base. Then, season the top of the rice with shichimi togarashi, and place a piece of Spam on top.

4. Wrap the Spam musubi

For the nori, I buy ones specifically made for onigiri (2.75 inches wide) since they’re the perfect size, but if you only have the larger sheets, you can cut it into thirds. Center it above the musubi, place it down, and wrap it around the sides and bottom.

5. Bread them

Put the flour, two eggs, and panko into their own respective dishes. Whisk the eggs well. Coat the musubi in flour, then egg, then panko. For a thicker, crispier breaded layer like in the video, coat a second time in egg and panko.

6. Cook them!

Spray the air fryer cooking surface AND the tops of your katsu with nonstick cooking spray, and cook for 10 minutes. Then flip them over, spray the side facing up, and put back in for 5-6 minutes.

7. Plate them

Drizzle a little more Bachan’s sauce on top, and enjoy!

If you love that Japanese-Hawaiian crossover, you will also want to try Spam Mochi Musubi, which swaps the rice for air fryer kirimochi to give you that same salty-savory bite with a chewy, blistered mochi base.

Let me know what y’all think if you try it!

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